Support Ghost Town and other local projects

This is really not an “either-or” situation. Maggie Valley should definitely support Ghost Town as an investment (yes, I pay Maggie Valley taxes, so I’m entitled to that opinion). The town already invests in other things (the fairgrounds, etc.) with the expectation of a return on the investment (ROI). There’s no guarantee that they will get a good ROI on Ghost Town, but it looks better than it has for years.

This is not the same as “putting all our eggs in one basket.” We should definitely not do that. The key is balance. Support as much as is feasible, though. It astounds me that an alderman candidate who supports Ghost Town would be opposed merely for that support. Such support is good for Maggie Valley, but it’s all part of the bigger package of supporting the local businesses that bring people to our town.

The Naturalist's Corner

I had originally intended to spend today (Monday, Feb. 16) doing a couple of short surveys for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. But Sunday morning amid more and more (and more and more dire) weather forecasts warning of some pretty heavy winter weather coming our way I began to contemplate counting Sunday instead. Around 9 a.m. Sunday I peeked out the downstairs window. Well, in my yard were 17 wild turkeys. It looked like a large group of jakes and gobblers.